Fire and Ice
by LollipopCloudsandHoneyTyphoons
Summary: Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms - the Ice Kingdom, and the Fire Kingdom. A witch put a curse on the heirs when they were born that intensified their powers so that it was dangerous to touch anyone - they'd either be frozen or burned to death. When the two meet later on in life, they decide to go on a dangerous journey to rid of the curse. You know me.. Future Lemon!
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note : I decided to use the Ice Princess idea from my story "Royal Needs", but I changed it up a little so it would make a much longer story!**_

_**I'm excited, I've been thinking about this not long after coming up with the play itself while writing the other story, and so, I hope you enjoy! **_

**PROLOGUE**

Once upon a time, there were 2 kingdoms.

One was the fire kingdom, and the other was the ice kingdom.

Like their opposite elements, the fire kingdom and the ice kingdom didn't get along well at all – in fact they hated each other, setting up a wall of magic to divide the kingdoms.

Pretty soon,though, the Queens had given birth to a baby – the ice kingdom had a son, and the fire kingdom had a daughter.

The Queens didn't know, however, that a very powerful witch had been passing by the two kingdoms and placed a curse on the prince and princess before leaving.

When the babies were born, something happened.

While the nurse held Princess Karin in her arms for a minute, her entire body burned from intense heat.

The doctors quickly placed her in lukewarm water- which instantly boiled to a degree close enough to be the heat of the sun itself.

In order to avoid being horribly burned to death, no one could touch her.

After the Queen had given birth to Prince Kazune, whoever held him's hands froze completely and their temperature dropped to such a dangerous degree that they had to quickly place him in hot water, afraid they'd freeze to death.

But as soon as they did that, the water froze solid.

In order to avoid being frozen to beyond deadly degrees, no one could touch him.

The Kingdoms were all confused and scared the intensity of the babies' powers would one day destroy them all.

But no one knew that the witch had intensified their magical powers, and that she was the cause of the future life changing events of the children.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Karin's POV**_

My eyes opened.

My room was dark, still barely lit, but when I looked at my alarm clock, it was 6:42.

About time for the sun to rise.

I sat up and stretched, then pulled myself out of bed.

I sat down on my window seat to watch the bright light chase away the darkness as the sun rose to a brand new day.

Once it was completely up, I was already fully awake.

Grabbing my towel from my bathroom and a change of clothes, I put on my house slippers and tiptoed down the hallways of my castle and went down the one of the "almost everlasting stair cases" in my house.

Once my feet finally touched the 1st floor of the house, I giggled and quietly slipped out the front doors.

Running down the trail from my house that led to the kingdom, I passed by the city and turned the corner near the volcanoes, then set my things down when I came to my most favorite lake.

I undressed and dipped my toe in to test the water.

Lukewarm – but as soon as I settled inside the water entirely, the water boiled to the same intense heat as my body temperature.

You see, for some reason, when I was born, my powers were intensified to where I burned any one I touched so severely, I could kill them if I touched them for certain amounts of time, which has never happened before since every one knows this and avoids touching me.

Of course, it hurts my feelings, and I feel sad that I'm growing more dangerous every year, but at least I'm protecting every one from not getting hurt.

I sat on my knees in the boiling water and sighed as I crossed my arms over the ground and rested my chin on them.

I have hundreds of luxurious bathrooms in my castle and everything, but I enjoyed nature so much, sometimes it was fun to bathe in a lake – especially one with such a glorious water fall.

I hummed one of my favorite songs for a few minutes before a faint crackling made me jump.

I gasped and turned around, sinking into the water to cover myself.

"Jin!? Is that you?!"

There was a familiar laugh before one of my youngest guards revealed himself.

Jin was wearing his battle armor this morning- he must have had training again.

Jin took off his helmet, letting his curly black hair fall over his golden brown eyes.

"Hey, Princess."

I flushed a deep shade of red.

"Look away, you idiot! I'm bathing!"

Jin laughed nervously and turned around, facing the forest he'd stepped out of.

"Did you come to get me or something?" I asked.

Jin nodded, "Your mother wanted to see you. She had decided something with the Ice Queen that she thought you should know about."

Frowning, I stood out of the water and wrapped myself in a towel, then threw on my underwear and sundress.

"The _Ice Queen_? We've barely talked to them since I could remember!"

"Yeah, it's weird, I know, but it's important."

"What, did my parents finally decide to transport the kingdom halfway across the world to get away from them?" I joked.

Jin shook his head, "No, they've agreed that they want you to meet the Ice Prince."

_**Kazune's Pov**_

I inhaled as I aimed my arrow at the middle of the target, then exhaled as I released.

The arrow ripped through the target as I'd expected.

I reached for another arrow and sighed as I realized all of them had been shot already.

Using my powers, an arrow of ice formed in my hand, and I was about to shoot it when a familiar voice interrupted my focus.

"Good morning, my prince! Sorry to interrupt, but the Queen would like to see you."

I turned around to see Himeka, one of the sorceresses that used her magic to protect me in times of danger.

My parents had completely ignored me when I told them I wanted all male guards to protect me instead of females, but Himeka was alright.

She of the very few people that could understand me, what I was going through.

"What's my mother want to me about?" I sighed and followed her back to my castle.

"She hasn't told me yet.." Himeka tucked a lock of her long, straight, silver hair behind her ear and out of her dark blue eyes eyes, "... but, I do know that she spoke to the Fire Queen about something."

I frowned, "The _Fire _Queen? Why would my mother do that? We haven't spoke to them... since I can remember."

Himeka shrugged, "I'm not entirely sure, Kazune, but I bet you'll find out if you go~!" she skipped off through the path toward my castle while I raised an eyebrow and silently followed.

5 minutes later, I was sitting at the far end of the porcelain dining room table, across from my mother, Fuyoko.

She took a sip of her tea and looked up at me with her icy blue eyes.

"Mother, you said you wanted to see me?"

"Right, dear, I've taken time to think about how you're old enough to marry."

I placed my spoon down on my plate and stared at her.

"Marry?"

_Where in the world is this going?_

Fuyoko nodded, "You'll be 18 in half a year, it's about time we thought about it."  
I looked away, "How is that going to work exactly?"

_What's the point of marrying someone I can't even touch- let alone kiss? They'll just freeze to death after being around me._

"Well, I spoke to the Fire Queen Atsuko, and she thinks you should meet the Fire Princess."  
"Wait, huh? You were just talking about marriage a second ago, you don't mean-"

"God, no!" Fuyoko stood up, and her long, white braid fell over her shoulder.

"I would NEVER consider marrying my son off to someone from the FIRE kingdom- let alone the princess!"

I calmed down as she walked over to sit in a chair next to me.

"You see, Kazune, dear..." she got serious, "Princess Karin was born with the same... _curse_ as you."

My heart skipped a beat and I stared at my mother, wide eyed.

"The _Fire_ Princess?" I could barely find the words.

"Right. Her powers were intensified to where she burns anyone who touches her so severely, she could kill them in a matter of seconds."  
_How come I didn't know about this sooner?_

"Why do I have to meet her?"

"I'm thinking you two could find out how to get rid of that curse... _together."_

_**Karin's POV**_

I stared at myself in my full body mirror, putting on my dress.

My thick, curly hair( which was such a dark brown it was nearly black) hung down to my waist today with bangs that covered my left eye.

I'd chosen one of my cutest outfits- a sparkling black mini dress with large frills from top to bottom with a red jacked with a tail.

The eye liner on my eyelashes made them look thick and long, and on my lips was a not too dark red lipstick.

I looked into my own unusual red eyes and sighed.

My eyes were most likely apart of my "curse."

"You look beautiful, Karin."

I turned around to see my mother, Atsuko in the doorway.

I smiled, "Thank you, mother."

"You seem a little nervous."

I looked down at my slippers, "Well, of course I'd be."

Atsuko crossed her arms, "That snobby Fuyoko should be the one that's afraid we'd melt her precious everlasting ice castle and everything in it."

I giggled as my mother motioned for me to follow her outside the castle.

I still couldn't believe there was someone out there in the world with the same problem and curse as me. The same person that felt the pain of not being able to touch or be touched.

Jin followed us to the carriage and sat across from me.

I stared out the window and sighed again.

_Why are we meeting in the first place? I think it's too dangerous. I don't want to hurt any body._

I bit my lip and watched my kingdom disappear.

It was about 5 minutes later that we finally made it around the magical barrier of the Ice Kingdom.

As we passed by the city ruled by the Ice family, everyone stared at us.

We must have looked so out of place in our black carriage around a place decorated with "cool" colors.

Most of the people looked at us in disgust.

Jin quickly closed the window when he realized I looked uneasy.

The carriage finally stopped a few minutes later and the driver pulled the door open.

Jin stepped out first and helped me out of the carriage.

As I stepped down, I looked up at the humongous castle made almost entirely of everlasting ice and my eyes widened.

"Ugh! It's so _cold_ here.." My mother stepped out of the carriage as I admired the center of the Ice Kingdom and I suddenly felt the odd change in weather and cringed.

The degrees felt so odd and _low_ over here.

I'd never been over here and hardly any Fire people had, either, we were so used to heat.

"You alright, princess?" Jin asked.

"I'm fine.." I sighed and we made our way up the flight of stairs, which actually melted a little as we walked.

The Ice guards glared at us when we passed by and Jin stood in front of my mother and I protectively as the other guards did while they surrounded us.

The Ice guards pushed the doors open for us and we walked inside.

_**Later..**_

My mother and I were sitting far across a table with the Ice Queen Fuyoko at the other end.

She was very pretty, with silver white hair braided over her shoulder and the entire braid was decorated with beautiful crystal blue flowers.

She had skin that was porcelain and unusually pale looking, which was actually pretty common here.

Her eyes were a piercing blue and flickered over to us when she thought we weren't looking and she would grimace after looking us up and down.

She usually kept her white fan up and over her nose and mouth to hide her face.

But the prince wasn't here.

My mother finally spoke up.

"Fuyoko, would you mind telling us where your dear son is?"

Queen Fuyoko looked over at my mother, "I'm not so sure, either. You can be patient, can't you, _Atsuko_?"

My mother pushed her brown hair out of her bright orange eyes and frowned at the Ice Queen in front of us.

"We've been here for 30 minutes now, just how patient do you want us to be, snow white?"

Queen Fuyoko glared at her, "Are you going to explode with rage if he doesn't show up?"

I watched the fire burn in my mothers eyes when they flickered over to the Ice Queen again.

"Not exactly... it's just that it's boring and cold at your kingdom, it's much hotter and more fun at mine, don't you agree, Karin?"

All guard's eyes and both queen's eyes were on me and I felt my face burn a scarlet red.

"Um... I... I... think it's really pretty here, uh..."  
My mother looked disappointed and I could tell the Ice Queen was grinning from behind her fan.

I was so embarrassed and usually hated being the center of attention, I guess you could say I was "shy."

For the next 15 minutes, it was silent ,but my mother and the Ice Queen were glaring at each other from across the table.

I couldn't take it any more.

"Um... If you'll excuse me, I need some fresh air!" I stood up and ran out of the room.

_**Kazune's POV**_

To be honest, I was actually a little concerned about meeting the Fire kingdom's princess.

I knew absolutely nothing about her except that she was born with the same, yet opposite curse as I was, but what if something went wrong and I ended up freezing the Fire Kingdom's only heir and their only ruler?

_Stop thinking about that, it won't happen._

_**Yes it will.**_

I pushed the hair out of my eyes and stood out of bed, looking at myself in my mirror, my white emperor's clothing covering my body.

I placed my crown over my head and decided to finally go.

Even someone as cold as me knew it was rude to keep someone waiting over and hour for my appearance.

I walked out of my room and down a flight of stairs, guards bowing as I walked passed them.

I freaked out a little when I finally saw the door of the room we were meeting in and was sure every guard was confused when I suddenly took off running down the hallway and out the door of my castle with my hands in the air.

This was so weird and unlike me.

I was afraid of meeting the fire princess?!

I closed the castle doors behind me and inhaled some fresh air.

That's when I saw her.

I wasn't exactly sure who she was, but she certainly stood out from any person in this kingdom.

She was standing with her back toward me, and her hair was such a dark brown I would have automatically called it black. Her curly locks reached all the way down to her knees and on her head was a beautiful, tall black tiara. She was clothed in a long red jacket with a tail that swept the ground behind her and a sparkling black dress that stopped just below her hips. She had thigh high black socks on her legs and sparkling red boots.

She was definitely from the fire kingdom, whoever she was. Every one in the ice kingdom was always dressed in cool colors and it was odd to find someone in warm colors here.

I walked over to her and stopped just a few meters away.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

She turned around, just as one of those romantic breezes blew, and her hair fluttered behind her.

I looked into her surprised, fiery, gorgeous red eyes and her perfect face.

There was something about her that I couldn't quite place my finger on, but she was unlike any one I'd ever encountered.

_**Karin's POV**_

I stared up at the gorgeous man before me and knew he was a prince almost immediately.

He had snow white hair that had grown all the way down to his shoulders and porcelain skin with unusual icy sapphire blue eyes.

The prince was dressed in long, cool colored kingly robes that looked great on him.

Every thing about him was perfect.

There was something about him, I couldn't say, but I felt different around him.

It was cheesy, but it felt like fate the moment we saw each other for the first time.

So gorgeous...

"I... I'm just getting some fresh air.." I said in a small voice.

"Yes.." his voice was cold, " but you're from the fire kingdom, aren't you? Shouldn't you be in the meeting room with the Ice Queen and not frolicking around my castle?"

I felt fire burn inside of me, the same when I was angry and glared at him.

"So..." I crossed my arms, "You're the Ice Prince, aren't you? My mother and I have been waiting on you for over and hour now."

"Who cares about that? I wonder why you're even here with the princess? What are you, a maid?"

"I _am_ the princess!"

That seemed to surprise him because his eyes widened.

"That's funny, you don't look like one."

I stepped toward him and accidentally stepped on the tail of my jacket and slipped.

"Ahhh!"

Everything happened so fast.

I was falling toward the ground and the rude "Ice Prince" reached out toward me and caught me – my arms over his shoulders and his arms around my back.

We stayed still for a moment before I looked up at him in shock.

Why hadn't he...

He had the same shock on his face as I did, then at the same time we said:

"You didn't burn!"

"You didn't freeze!"

We both flushed suddenly and pulled away from each other.

"I don't get it... whenever I touch someone they burn to death!"

"Same with me, they freeze to a deadly degree almost instantly!" he stared at me.

We stared into each others eyes and I was captivated for a moment before I spoke again.

"Give me your hand."

The Ice Prince frowned, "Why would I do th-"  
I grabbed his wrist and put my hand on his.

Our fingers entangled and we stared at our hands questioningly.

"We can... touch each other.." I gasped.

Not only that, but it felt.. warm.

It was amazing.

My body instantly cooled from the touch and it was like the fire inside of me had ceased.

We looked back at each other at the same time.

I knew there was something different about him.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Karin's POV**_

_I knew there was something different about him. I just knew it._

I stared deeply into the cold, yet surprised crystal blue eyes of the ice prince, thinking so hard about how this was possible that I was almost entranced. I couldn't look away from him, and ever so slowly, our fingers entangled. His hands were so.. soft.. and his touch felt nice.. I felt so different about him that I could barely explain.

The first person I'd ever been able to touch.

The ice prince stared at me, surprised, and we continued to look at each other without saying a word.

My eyes flickered to the way our hands were touching, and I felt the amazing sensation of the fire inside of me ceasing.

I wonder how he felt?

_**Kazune's POV**_

Inside of me, for the first time, I felt warm.

This was a very alien feeling for me, considering the fact that I'd been cold for 17 years.

Why was it that this girl was the only person I could touch and feel warm with? I mean... why not any one else. This was a mystery to me, and judging my the curiosity in her eyes, it was to her, too.

I looked into the Fire Princess' eyes of eternal, bright scarlet flames and continued to do so.

I had to admit, those eyes of hers were really beautiful. Did her fire people beyond that wall have the same kind of unusually beautiful eyes, too?

I wasn't sure how long we'd been staring at each other, but it was as if the whole world disappeared and she was the only person I could think about.

I was so confused. I'd never been this confused. What if I _was _freezing her and she couldn't feel it?

What if she was dying right now? What If _I_ was dying right now? What if she was burning me and I couldn't feel it?

Wait. What was I doing? She was a _Fire _Princess_. _My _**ENEMY**_!

Shaking my head, I snatched my hand back and glared at her coldly. She seemed surprised by this.

The eternal cold in my body returned.

"You fire people are weirder than I thought. Grabbing people's hands like that... What were you thinking? You're not _worthy_ enough to touch me. Even if you are a _Princess_." I wiped my hand on my robe and gave her a disgusted look.

Her hand dropped to her side and she looked a little hurt, "B-but, I thought that-"  
"What? Just because we seem to be able to come in contact with each other doesn't mean I would want to touch someone like _you_, Fire Princess."  
Her eyes burned with fury as she glared back at me.

"Well, It's not like I enjoyed touching your hand, Ice Prince. It's so... cold.. I.. I... HATE it."  
Wow, she was an idiot. "This was SUCH a bad idea. Now I know why we should hate you ice people! You're so _rude_!" she screamed.

"So noisy... Why don't you and you're mother just get out of here? It's obvious you're not wanted." I spat back.

"It's not like I wanted to come here! So why are you being so rude?" she balled up her fists.

"It's in our nature to hate each other isn't it?" I stared down at her and smirked.

"That doesn't mean anything! I don't get it with you people! _Why_ do we have to hate each other?!"

I'd often asked myself the same thing, but I was too impatient to keep thinking about it.

"You're fire – I'm ice. But of course, ice overpowers such a stupid element like fire. You and I _both_ know that."

One of the Ice Princess' fists suddenly caught fire and she stared at me with enraged flames for eyes.

"What? Are you getting angry now, princess?"

"YES! _I __**AM**__!_ You ICE DEVIL!"She pulled her arm back and quickly swung it back up to make contact with my face in a very painful punch.

_**Karin's POV**_

I watched the ice prince as he raised his hand to touch his now red cheek and he looked at me with surprise before glaring icy daggers. He grabbed my wrist and I struggled to pull it back.

"How dare you! I should have my guards-"  
"WHAT DID YOU JUST DO TO MY SON?!"

We both whirled around at the same time to see both of our mothers staring at us in shock.

Well, my mother was shocked before she gave a cheeky grin, obviously proud at my hit to the ice princes' gorgeous face. The ice queen glared those same icy daggers at me, only more frightening and my stomach dropped.

Should I have been afraid of her? I think my mother would be upset if I told her I was. After all, we were enemies.

"NICE MOVE, SWEETIE!" Atsuko gave me a thumbs up and I flushed.

"I didn't mean- AHHH!"

With one wave of her hand, Queen Fuyoko scent spears made of ice flying toward my face. I screamed and prepared for the attack, but with one burst a flames, the shards melted instantly.

I looked over at my mother, who was dropping her hand.

"Now, now, Fuyoko-chan, you can't just kill my daughter. She just got here. Wow, you people treat your guests with such _kindness_."

Queen Fuyoko turned the icy glare to my mother, who looked bored, of course.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me Fuyoko-chan! You know it infuriates me!"

Atsuko rolled her eyes, "Yeah, whatever. I really hate your kingdom, Fuyoko, so can we hurry up with this meeting so our kids can make their decisions already?"  
Fuyoko walked over to us and ripped the Ice Princes' hand away from my wrist.

"Get inside so we can settle this agreement."

Avoiding the Ice Princes eyes, I walked silent inside the castle of everlasting ice and sat down in the room with every one.

"Now. My son Kazune will be 18 next year and I want him to get married of course, so he can take the throne."

"Right." Atsuko rested her chin in her hand.

Where was this going?

"Considering the fact that he can't touch anyone, this will be a problem. That's why I called you two. Maybe you can help."  
I flushed. "Wait, what?!" My mother jumped out of her chair, "Help?! What do you mean help?! If that's what you're thinking, hell no, I'm not letting your son marry my Karin-"  
I glanced at Kazune, who merely rolled his eyes as his mother glared at us.  
"I don't know why the 3 of you thought I'd want to marry my son off to a fire princess, but NO, that's not my intention at all." she said, regarding me, Atsuko, and Prince Kazune.

I sighed in relief. No way could I marry someone like him.

"Shouldn't you be disappointed?" the Ice Queen looked at me, "After all, everyone knows my son is the most gorgeous man on earth. Even your fire people talk about him."

Atsuko glared at Queen Fuyoko, "No, she's not disappointed, you idiot, she's relieved. And so am I, he should be the one that's disappointed for not being able to marry someone so beautiful." she gestured toward me and my cheeks burned.

Kazune sat up in his chair, looking at me in Atsuko in disbelief, "Now, that's absurd! Why would I-"

"Silence!"

Queen Fuyoko's voice echoed through the castle and the walls rattled.

The room grew quiet and Atsuko sighed.

We sat down and Queen Fuyoko continued.

"I simply want you two to find a cure for this – then everyone will be happy."  
That caught both me and Kazune's attention and we stared at the queen with wide eyes.

"Find a cure?" I asked.

The Ice Queen clapped her hands and a guard handed her a book. Lying it on the table, she flipped through it as she spoke.  
"When we found out Kazune had been born with his powers intensified, I sent out dozens of servants to find out exactly what this was. Then, a few weeks ago, something finally came up."  
She lifted the book in the air and turned it so that we could see the cover.

"_The Legend of Fire and Ice." _it read.

Lying it back on the table, she smiled, "I read the very last chapter of this book and found out that both of our children are taking part in a curse that has no actual time recurrence, but was said to one day actually happen."

My heart skipped a beat.

So, I had been born with a curse? Just a curse, that probably no one else would ever have, but I had been?

_We_ had been? I glanced over at the now shocked looking ice prince, and then at my confused mother.

"My daughter was _cursed_? WHY?" her confusion turned to outrage when the Ice Queen simply said, "It doesn't say."

"Whatever. Just read what you read, then." Atsuko crossed her arms over her chest.

"_When the curse takes place, it will be the day 2 infants are born into their kingdoms on the same day, at the same time. Their powers will be of the opposite elements- Fire and Ice, and will be dangerously intensified. The children will be unable to touch or be touched,and their bodies will soon be consumed by the power as they grow older. It is about the age 18 that most magic users gain 980% of their power, meaning that the "End of the World" will occur after they reach this age. The only way this curse can be broken is if-"  
_The Queen stopped reading.

"Well?" Atsuko asked. "What's the cure?! Stop teasing us."  
"Oh, I'm not teasing you." The ice Queen glanced at us from over the book and I looked to see that all of us were equally frustrated.

She turned the book around and pointed to the page that had obviously been ripped.

"The page is missing." she said simply.

My eyes widened, "Well, how are we supposed to-"  
Queen Fuyoko raised a hand to silence me, "That's what we'd all like to know, Princess Karin."


	4. Chapter 3

_**Kazune's POV  
**_I glanced at the Fire Princess and The Fire Queen.

They looked just as confused as I was. Sitting back in my chair, I crossed my arms and looked at the book with the missing page.

"Mother," I spoke up, "Get to the point, already."

Queen Fuyoko smiled proudly, "I'm saying that... The Fire Princess and my son should seek out the missing page, of course!"

Queen Atsuko sighed, "Are you talking about some kind of journey? You want my daughter to go an an _adventure_? With HIM?"

I grimaced, "Mother, that doesn't sound like a good idea. I'm not in to "team work."

Fuyoko glared at me with her cold blue eyes, "You will be in to ' team work ' if it means your curse will be gone, Kazune."  
"Not with her, I won't."

The Fire Princess spoke up, "Why the both of us?"

Queen Fuyoko put the book down to flip to the last page and pointed to an unusual scepter – half of it was silver, and the other was black. The scepter held a huge crystal ball, swarming with fire, lava, ice, and water.

"This is called the Element scepter. It gives only 2 wishes. This scepter was born when you two were – it is meant for you both. It can only be held by either one of you. My intention at first was to have my guards go after it, but there are challenges even they can't face along the way."  
"What are you saying?" I asked.

"It says that as you get older, you will gain more power and will be immune to the elements you've been born with.. my guards don't have magic, so it really is only you two that are able to go. It even says it in the book..." Fuyoko turned to show us all whatever was in the book, but we ignored her.

"They've just met," Queen Atsuko spoke up, "And you're expecting them to intrust their lives with each other out of no where? How long have you been planning this?"

Fuyoko sighed, "It's only been a few days, my thoughts just come together sometimes..."

Atsuko narrowed her eyes before standing out of her chair and motioning for her daughter to do the same.

"I think it's time we go. There's just too much ice here... Our bodies won't be able to take it."

Fuyoko blinked, "What are you...W-wait!"  
The Fire Princess and Queen were already on their way out the door.

"Well, aren't you guys going to at least think about it..?! Hey!"

After chasing her to the front door, Fuyoko scowled and with a snap of her fingers, demanded for her guards to block the doors.

I followed silently and leaned against the wall to watch.

"Sure, we'll think about it." Atsuko said, but I was pretty sure she was being sarcastic, even though my mother seemed fine with that.

"Ugh. Leave then. You're melting the ice."  
"Yeah, yeah." Atsuko wrapped an arm around her daughter before leaving.

_**Karin's POV**_

2 weeks passed. Life was pretty boring after that. I was always wondering what the Ice Prince was doing from time to time.

All I did was lay on my bed daydreaming.

But one day...

"_**Hey... Good for nothing girl. Can you hear me?"**_

I sat up on my bed and looked around. I turned my lamp on and yawned. Frowning, I glanced around the room. There was no one there.

"_**I said... can you hear me?"**_

The voice was inside my head, but definitely the Ice Prince Kazune's.

I blinked a few times, then realized he was speaking to me through some kind of telepathy.

I blushed furiously for a minute, feeling embarrassed for some odd reason, and spoke out loud :

"Uhh... yes, I can hear you.."  
_**"You fire people are dumber than I thought. It's TELEPATHY, you're supposed to speak to me in your mind, you idiot!"**_

"_**How can you just call me like that and then totally INSULT me and my royal subjects?! YOU called **_**me**_**, for god sake!"**_

"_**I didn't call you for that, now quit YELLING IN MY BRAIN!"**_

"_**If you're going to be so rude, why don't you just hang up, or something?!"**_

"_**Moron! THIS ISN'T A PHONE!"**_

I winced and clutched my aching head. It felt like a thousand monkeys had screamed in my ear all at the same time.

"_**That hurts! Stop yelling at me!"**_

There was an annoyed sigh, and the ice prince waited for the ringing in my head to stop before he spoke again, this time in a surprisingly smooth and gentler tone, _**"I'm sorry. You're right, I shouldn't have yelled. I did call you, after all."  
**_I stopped clutching my head and felt my cheeks singe and my face heat up.

"_**What do you want with me, then?" **_

There was a short pause, then he said, _**"I wanted to know... since Queen Fuyoko was talking the whole time.. What are your thoughts on everything that's going on? Her ideas? I just don't quite understand."**_

"_**Mmnn, umm, well, I just thought.. maybe if it's our only chance to get rid of whatever is going on with our powers, we should... take it."**_

"_**Huh?"**_

"_**Do whatever your mother is saying – something about us going on a journey because we are the only one's that are supposed to go- It actually sounds very interesting."**_

"_**Interesting? How can you say that? We aren't aloud to be accompanied by ANYONE! And that retarded book is deciding our future FOR us, saying we have to go on the journey, and that we were chosen just because the curse WANTED to choose us. THIS ISN'T AT ALL FAIR. AND THIS ISN'T A JOKE! YOU SHOULD BE THINKING A LITTLE MORE PROFESSIONALLY ABOUT THIS, DON'T YOU THINK? WHAT ARE YOU, 7?!"**_

I cried out in pain and slapped my hands over my ears.

"_**Stop it, it hurts when you YELL! AND HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A CHILD, YOU STUPID, COLD HEARTED PERSON! YOU ACT LIKE YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS NO SAY IN THIS! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS IN ALL THE WRONG WAYS!? HAVEN'T YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT THIS WAY – THAT THIS CURSE IS SUPPOSED TO SOMEHOW BRING US TOGETHER? OR OUR KINGDOMS?! I REALLY HATE YOU! YOU KNOW WHAT?! I WOULD RATHER DIE, OR TAKE THE WORLD WITH ME THAN GO ON A JOURNEY WITH YOU! YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE BUT YOURSELF!"  
"That's not true! AND YOU'RE AN IDIOT, I HATE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE! I BARELY EVEN KNOW YOU! AND FOR THAT, MY MOTHER IS THE OTHER STUPID ONE! YOU KNOW, SHE NEVER EVEN TOOK THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE WOULD FEEL, THAT SELFISH WOMAN, HER TITLE SUITS HER PERFECTLY! AND SINCE YOU BARELY KNOW ME YOURSELF, YOU SHOULDN'T SAY THINGS LIKE 'I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE BUT MYSELF!' AND YOU SOUND PRETTY SELFISH, SAYING YOU WOULD RATHER TAKE THE LIVES OF BILLIONS THAN GO RID OF THIS CURSE WITH ME!**_

He continued. _**"But... since this is something there's only one way to work out... I think it's for the **__**best. I know, I may not seem like the type of guy to trust with your life, and I'm not comfortable leaving my home behind to trust my own life with you, but... I think we can learn.. if we really have to... don't you?"**_

My boiling blood returned back to normal and I felt my face soften.

"_**Yes."**_

"_**Good. I'll talk to my mother, then. And maybe we can see about going on this little "adventure." If that's okay with you."**_

"_**That's funny... you're actually being very considerate."**_

"_**Shut up."**_

I let a giggle escape my lips and turned to lie on my side. Before I knew it, my eyelids were growing heavy.

"_**That's odd... you're not getting sleepy by any chance, are you?"**_

My eyelids snapped open, _**"How did you know that?"  
"I don't, really, it was just this weird feeling I suddenly got... I could hear your heartbeat slowing."**_

"Ah!" I said aloud, growing embarrassed. My heart pounded in my chest and I heard a light chuckle echo through my head.

"_**Now it's pounding.. Moron. Fine, I'll let you rest. Goodnight."  
**_As if he had hung up, I felt an odd sensation in my body that felt like a disconnection, like something was breaking away, and I knew our odd, sudden telepathy had ceased.

"_**Goodnight.."**_

_**Kazune's POV**_

It was the next morning. Snow birds were chirping noisily outside my window, as if to encourage me to hurry and tell my mother the news. They only got noisier.

I glared outside at one of them, perched on a tree not far from my open window, shaking it's pure white feathers and narrowing it's soft blue eyes at me.

"Silence." I muttered, wiping my eyes and stretching.

The bird cawed, leaning forward and screeching at me.

"_Hurry, Ice Prince!"_

I did my best to ignore the continuous bird screaming, but my best wasn't good enough.

"I said to _silence_!" Without thinking, I threw a few shards of sharp ice daggers in the bird's direction.

It flew off in time to get away alive, but one of the daggers had stabbed a snow white feather and was pinning it to the tree.

I held my head in my hands and mentally kicked myself for what I had said last night. Why had I agreed to this stupid thing in the first place?

I wanted to get rid of this stupid curse. Now, that idiotic Fire Princess actually thought I cared about my subjects – it'd be worse if she thought I cared about her, too!

"_Yes. That's exactly what you're gonna do. You'll go on that stupid journey with her. And you'll pretend that you care – that way, you'll definitely fool whoever created this curse in the first place. You'll get rid of this curse in no time. After all, no one's saying you have to care about her at all. It should be easy, since the Fire People are born stupid."_

Biting my lip, I climbed out of bed and undressed myself. Unbuttoning my shirt, I walked across my large, all white and stainless room toward my full length mirror.

I pulled the shirt off of my body and stared at the silver heart shaped birthmark on my skin, just above my heart. I grimaced. It was something I had often questioned my mother about as a child, knowing she didn't have the answer. Thinking back on it now, I knew it was probably just another sign of my curse.

My shirt dropped to the floor and I went through my closet to find something to wear.

"What the hell did you just say?! **ABSOLUTELY **_**NOT!"**_

Queen Fuyoko slammed her cup down on the ice table with so much force that the eternal ice shattered all the way down to my end of it. I hadn't even flinched at my mother's immediate reaction to what I had said. After all, it was to be expected.

I actually think my mother hates The Fire Kingdom about 7 times more because of yesterday.

"But mother," I plastered a fake smile to my face and used my "I'm going to get what I want, one way or another" tone as I spoke, "It was your idea in the beginning, and we both know it's something we should definitely go forward with. I thought about it myself over the night, and I thought everything sounded reasonable. The Fire Queen was probably just worried about her daughter yesterday, is all."  
"You know that's not true, darling...! That Fire Queen is as thick headed as ever, and she probably only cares about her daughter! We can't trust her kind, anyway! If you were to go on the journey with her fantastically stupid child, you could be killed. It's not something we should risk. But don't you worry, my little snow angel, we will find another way. I can't believe I suggested teaming up with them. Idiots! Every single one of them!"  
"Mother, " I spoke softly, "Trust isn't something we need to worry about. It's getting what we want. Who said we had to be the best of friends during this whole thing? All I have to do is go on that journey and stay alive, correct?"

"That's not how it works! Once you step foot out of the ice field, witches, wizards, fairies, monsters, dark creatures, and even worse magical beings you can think of will be attracted immediately to you!"

I frowned, "What are you talking about, mother?"

She sighed heavily, "I was never able to tell you all _why_ this journey was titled to be dangerous."  
The atmosphere changed as a grave look appeared on my mother's face.

"You're heart is very valuable to different creatures, because there is a very special and powerful jewel inside of it. It's another thing that comes with your 'curse.' This jewel is very valuable now because it has never been activated."  
"Activated?"

"Yes, activated. You haven't... reached a level of maturity for your body to be able to consume the power inside of the jewel and actually _use _it. If someone takes the jewel, you will die, and they will be given power of the world. The Fire Princess was born with a jewel inside of her as well. If the both of you step foot outside of the kingdom, you will give off an obvious scent that will attract enemies. You may never be safe again!Don't you see?!"

I looked down at my entirely frozen dinner and ran my fingers through my hair. I thought about how horrible this all was..

But I wasn't changing my mind.

"Mother.." I tried.

Queen Fuyoko jumped out of her seat, finally succeeding in crushing the entire table. It lay in humungous, chunks and shards of ice at our feet now.

"Hush! I have given you my final answer! You are NOT going with that Fire Princess!"  
She stormed out of the dining room. I sighed and closed my eyes.

_Damn._

Moments later, I felt a hesitant finger touch my shoulder. I didn't have to open my eyes to know who it was.

I turned to Himeka and gave her a cold look.

"What do you want?"

Himeka smiled a rather warm smile. She was always so odd. The only person I knew that actually put up with my attitude.

"I want to know if you're okay."

"I'm fine. Get some one to clean this up, will you?" I stood out of my chair and brushed her hand off of me, about to walk out of the dining room, when I felt her grasp my sleeve, careful not to touch my skin.

I turned to glare at Himeka. Her dark blue eyes were pleading.

"Your highness, you can speak to me. I want to help you. We can still go, if this is what you really want."  
I turned so I was facing her completely, raising an eyebrow.

"If a true king truly wants to protect his kingdom, he must rid of all obstacles, even if it means going against someone's wishes."

I blinked, amused at where this was heading, "You're saying.."  
"Yes," her voice was soft, "You can leave without her knowing. You won't be putting anyone in danger that way. But you must promise to let me go. I'll be the only one there you can trust."  
I smiled, this was all too perfect.

"Let's leave tonight then."

_**Karin's POV**_

Solemnly, I stared down at the floor of my room and sighed.

My mother had grounded me for even mentioning what had happened yesterday, letting me know she was still pretty angry with the Ice Queen.

I wondered how Kazune was doing, and how it had gone with his mother. Probably not that good.

I heard my door creak open and I turned to see who was entering.

Jin was smiling in the doorway, tip toeing into the room and silently shutting the door behind him.

"Jin! You're not supposed to enter a princess' room! Especially since I'm grounded!"

Jin smiled, his golden eyes lighting up, "Silly. I came here without anyone seeing. I'm supposed to check on you every hour, anyway. I don't have long, so talk to me."  
He walked across the room and sat on my bed.

"What's wrong?"  
"What do you mean, what's wrong? The first chance I get to get rid of this curse, and it's ruined!"

Jin touched my shoulder cautiously with a finger, but it wasn't there long since I was wearing a sleeveless blouse. He was coming in contact with my bare skin.

"Hey, calm down... It's not like we're going to stop trying..."  
"You don't know how I feel!" I yelled, "Jin, I really want this! I want to be a princess that can go out and see the world, hug or kiss the children that look up to me! Hug or touch my mother! Fall in love with someone I can't hurt! If you had something you _really, so desperately_ wanted, and you were coming so close to getting it, wouldn't you do everything in your power to try for it?!"  
Jin looked away, his golden eyes darkening this time.

"Yes." he said quietly. "But.. why can't you fall in love with anyone? That doesn't seem to make any sense. Just because you can't touch them, even though you really want to.. I mean, there's someone I protect every single day that I can't touch. I see her all the time and..." his voice trailed off, a light blush covering his cheeks.

I watched him.

"Karin-sama... I... I.. l-"

"_**Hey. Fire Princess."  
**_I gasped and stiffened. Jin stared at me cautiously.

"W-what's wrong?"  
"It's nothing, it's-"  
_**"Kazune?" **_I asked.

"_**Until things aren't considered awkward between us, you will call me Prince Kazune, you weirdo. Anyway. You better pack your things."**_

"_**Your mother actually agreed? But.. I'm grounded.. my mother was angry that I even spoke about what happened yesterday."  
**_The princes' amused laugh echoed through my head.

"_**Your own mother treats you like a child! How can you be grounded and be so obedient at the same time?!"**_

I glared, "Jerk."  
_**"Sorry, I don't think I heard you that time.."**_

Jin blinked, "Did I do something wrong?"

I held up a hand to silence him and closed my eyes to listen to what Kazune had to say.

"_**Anyway, no, my mother did not agree. And she says she's given me her final answer."**_

"_**But, then, wh-"**_

"_**Our only option... is to sneak out."**_

"_**Sneak?! What are you, crazy?!"  
"Think about what you want out of this! It's our only option, there's no more time left for convincing!"**_

I thought long and hard about this. I'd be leaving my kingdom behind. I would be exiting the barrier that protected me for 17 years. Once I left, all of my protection would be gone.

But this was something I had to do. Just another one of life's sacrifices, right? If I did this, I'd be getting my wish, wouldn't I?

I hesitated to answer.

"_**Alright. Let's leave at midnight... Or something..."**_


	5. Chapter 4

**Karin's POV**

"_**So... are you packed?"**_

I looked down at my waist. Jin was securing a belt around it that held my sheathed Fire Sword. I winced from how tight he adjusted the belt and he looked up at me, smirking with mischief.

I glared at him and reached down to pinch his nose, giggling at the adorable pout he gave me.

"_**Just about."**_

"_**Geez. It'll be sunrise by the time you finish."**_

"_**Shh. I'm trying to adjust this belt for my sword."**_

I hadn't quite told Kazune about Jin yet... I was scared he'd get angry and call the whole thing off. After explaining the whole story to Jin, he couldn't be convinced otherwise – he told me he'd never forgive me if I didn't let him go. It was his duty to protect me as a Knight, after all.

Jin handed me a backpack, "This has food and water in it. I also packed one of your lucky stuffed animals -" he grinned, "-I'll be carrying this huge travel bag with our tent in it and a few other things, okay?"  
I nodded, taking the bag and throwing it over my shoulders. Checking over my suit – a black unitard with long sleeves, I hurried to pull my long, dark hair into a pony tail.

"You ready?"

I looked up at Jin, turning to look at myself in the mirror and nodded silently, thinking this over one last time to make sure I got it.

"Jin, I'm relying on you," I turned to him, "You know I've barely left the castle before- I'll be clueless when it comes to animals and creatures and things like that."

Jin grabbed my hands and held them gently in his.

"I've known you for 7 years. I'm your closest friend. I will protect you with my life, you know you can trust me."

Jin stepped forward and pulled me into a comforting embrace. I hugged him back tightly.

"Of course I can."

We held each other a moment before the alarm clock on my dresser rang. I let go of Jin and slowly walked across the room and took it off of the dresser to read the time.  
"It's midnight." I whispered.

Jin grabbed the alarm clock and turned it off before slowly setting it back down.

"Oh." he whispered back.

I felt the fire butterflies in my stomach fluttering around as my nervousness stirred them. This was the hardest decision( I hoped) I would ever have to make. I hadn't even been outside castle grounds before. My mother made it a rule that I stay in the castle so she could "spoil me."

And I had been spoiled.

All my life. But now I knew she wasn't just keeping me locked away for my protection – she was protecting the Fire people as well.

Well, I was no longer going to be the weak little girl that was always protected every where she went. I was going to be independent from now on. Going on a dangerous journey with the type of creatures the Prince Kazune had explained would be on the way would take some serious courage to face.

Serious courage for someone like me, anyway.

Everything I should be seeing outside is shown to me in picture books, so I really am useless in real life situations. Jin will be especially important during our journey.

A small part of me felt like I was betraying my mother in a way.

Maybe I was, but I don't have a choice. I would be taking the throne soon, and I can't quite be recognized as a Queen without a King by my side. That's just the "royalty" rule my family's lived by.

Yeah, it's kind of unfortunate.

Again, I don't have much of a choice.

"Karin-chan?"

The sound of my childhood friend and personal knight's voice snapped me out of my deep thoughts. From the worried look on his face, he had probably been calling me for a while now.

"Are you alright?" Jin secured his gloves before taking my hands in his.

I blushed and looked down at my own gloved hands. "I'm fine... it's been awhile since we've held hands, Jin... does it burn?"

Jin smiled softly, "No, your hands are very warm and delicate, even through the thickness of your gloves, I can feel their warmth." he took my hand and put it on his cheek.

I smiled back at him and stepped forward.

"Jin... I want to hug you, but I..."

Without another word, Jin pulled me into a gentle hug. It was slightly awkward because we had to make sure our skin wasn't coming in contact with the others, but it was still so comforting.

We, of course, don't get to do things like this often.

Jin pulled away from me, brushing a strand of hair that had escaped from my pony tail out of my face and gazing deeply into my eyes.

"Are you ready to go?"

I took one last look at my bedroom. I had made sure to straighten it up and properly fold my dress on the bed. I placed a tiara on top of the dress to let my mother know I was giving up my royal position until I had gotten back.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Jin grabbed my hand, gave it a gentle squeeze, and we both crawled out of my window.

_**Kazune's POV**_

Geez.

Who knew the fire people were so sensitive about every little thing. Hadn't the Princess ever gone out of her castle before?

She wasn't really good about keeping her thoughts private, either. I could hear everything she'd been thinking.

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and turned to look at Himeka.

She was smiling, as always. Probably about something else I would never be able to know.

"You seem tense. Are you worried?"

"Hell no."

Her smile widened, "Prince Kazune, you can tell me how you really feel, you know."

"I don't need to. I already did. I'm not worried. I have no reason to be. I'm just pissed that they're this late, I mean, do they know they're supposed to be over this wall at _exactly_ midnight?"

"_They_?" Himeka frowned.

"Yeah. She hasn't told me yet, that idiot. I guess she forgot that we can communicate telepathically. Apparently, she's bringing this personal knight of hers on the journey with us."

Himeka crossed her arms, grimacing, "Well. That sounds unfair that she would decide that without negotiating it with us."

I rolled my eyes, "Are you stupid, too? What's there to negotiate? We decided you would go along without telling her in the beginning."

Himeka laughed, "Oh, yeah... But.. it still sounds evil of her to do the same thing, doesn't it?"

I pressed my back against the tall brick wall that split the two element kingdoms apart and scowled at the weird feeling it gave me.

I hated this wall.

I couldn't explain why, of course, it just felt... filthy. Every inch of it. A moment later, I pulled away from it and began to pace around, gripping the straps of my huge back pack.

"Why are they so late...?" I muttered.

"Just give them some time. It's not as easy as it sounds, leaving the only place you've ever known, Prince Kazune." Himeka set her own bag down. It landed in the frozen grass with a small crunch.

"Well, I did it, didn't I? And I was on time, too."

"That's because you hate your castle."  
"I hate everything." I sighed in frustration and glared up at the full moon. It hung, fat, bright, and round, lighting up the whole world and illuminating my kingdom. I looked the whole place over again.

Earlier, when Himeka and I had escaped, I had barely even looked back at anything.

The truth was, I really didn't care about this place. Everything about it was just... horrible, but, It was my home, I couldn't call it anything else.

I'd grown up in it, I'd been taught everything I'd ever known in it, I was born in it...

But I didn't care.

Everyone I'd encountered in this kingdom had been stupid.

Stupid and evil.

Like I could be, sometimes. I'll admit it. I was just like them, after all. I was their prince.

"Uhh, _Ice Prince?"_

I glanced up at the wall. Princess Karin and a teenage boy I guessed immediately was this Jin she'd been thinking so hard about were sitting on top of it, their legs thrown over the side.

"Finally. What the hell! You're like, 7 minutes late. Were you spending all of your precious time looking over that piece of crap kingdom you rule?"

She glared down at me, her bright ruby eyes aflame.

"My kingdom is not a piece of crap, Ice Prince, it's just more fun and entertaining than yours will ever be."

I also had to admit that the Fire Princess was actually the 2nd thing good about this entire thing. It wasn't just because we could understand each other; she was probably the first person to ever stand up or talk back to me in a threatening tone.

Which I for some reason found very intriguing.

In a way.

"Ah." The Fire Princess's eyes wandered over to Himeka.

"Oh, sorry," Himeka had a bored look on her face, "I'm going to be Kazune's guardian for this journey. I'm Ice Sorceress Himeka."  
Jin looked at me – also with a bored look on his face as he glanced at what I was wearing.

"I should apologize, too. I'm Karin's personal Knight, Jin. A swordsman."

Himeka looked up at Jin, "You address the Fire Princess in such a casual way." she sounded amused.

Jin smiled, "Ah. We're really close, you see. We've been close friends for a long time."

Uh oh.

I looked away, but I could feel Himeka's eyes on me.

"So have _we_..." she said in a curious voice. "Prince Kazune, do you think I could-"

"Let's go. We should get a move on." I cut her off and looked back up at the Ice Princess. The thought of Himeka calling me in a more formal way was just so awkward. Perhaps in the future, if we bonded a little more.

Jin jumped down and landed in front of me. He stood up. We were the exact same height, and for a while, we glared into each others' eyes.

His eyes were more of a bronze color, and his hair was dark, like most of the Fire people. I looked at his clothing. He was wearing all sort of various weapons packed in his belts and the straps on his shoulders that I was positive we would need.

Jin was carrying a huge travel bag with a tent and probably other valuable items on his back.

I knew Himeka had forgotten something. Oh well, we usually liked building igloos, anyway.

"Hmph." Jin smirked. I narrowed my eyes at the jerk.

He was looking down on me!

The Fire Kingdom Knight turned his attention toward his princess, who threw her bag down first before jumping off the edge of the wall into his arms. He caught her and she giggled. I rolled my eyes and turned to Himeka, who pulled out the map she'd ripped out from the book we'd stolen from my mother.

"It says first we'll be traveling through a forest, and then a beach, and then through the sea, so we should meet up with a witch at the village we'll come across after moving through the forest. We'll need a potion to protect you and the other sea animals from the water." Himeka sided next to Karin and announced our plans.

I followed after them. This probably wasn't going to be easy. I don't think I'll come to like this Jin guy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Princess Karin's POV**

"I'm telling you- we need to go right!"

"I said we need to go left!"

"What the hell would you know about anything outside of that Fire Kingdom, body guard?"_  
_

"Quit calling me a body guard and chill out."

"Oh, _nice_, tell an ice prince to _chill out_... got any better jokes?"

"Hell yeah, I got a better joke!"

"Really? Then tell it to my fist!"

"You picking a fight with me, block head?"

"Guys! You've been at it for 3 hours now!" I finally snapped, turning around to glare at Jin and Prince Kazune. They'd only known each other for 1/8 of a day and they hated each other. They really couldn't agree on anything, they were always at each other's throats. They even argued about where we should stop to rest.

Himeka-san was the only one with a sense of direction.

"It's HIS fault!" they pointed at each other and yelled at the same time.

Kazune crossed his arms over his chest and glared away, "Why'd you have to bring him along?"

"Because I _trust _him, and not you." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, well I don't trust either of you."

My anger flared, a simple, small flame spreading throughout my body, but I hurried to calm myself down. That was something I would have to start controlling. I'd burned Jin by accident once when we were kids because he had let one of my firebirds go.

"Everyone," Himeka put the map down and stopped walking, "If we are going on a dangerous journey together, we're going to have to learn how to get along. Starting with Jin-san and Kazune-sama. You guys are the men here, and in times where me and Karin-sama will be in trouble, we'll be relying on y-"  
"Well, if he wasn't so against me all the time, this could probably work out, but I guess all ice people are cold hearted!"

"Well, I guess all fire people are just too sensitive and stupid! Of course, I wouldn't agree on something if it sounded just plain dumb!" Kazune glared his frost blue eyes into Jin's warm gold ones.

"Dumb, huh? You little-" Jin drew back his fist when something next to me jumped out of the bushes and grabbed onto my shoulder, roaring like a monster.

I screamed, "Kyaaaa!" as I was grabbed my waist and pulled from the ground.

All in a few seconds, Kazune grabbed an arrow from behind him and set it into his bow, aimed, and let the bow go.

It flew toward me and struck the monster that had grabbed me.

With a pained cry, I was released. I fell to the ground before scrambling to my feet and running to hide behind Jin.

Jin snapped his fingers and a ball of fire appeared in his hands so we could see the monster.

"Ew! Gross!" I stared at the weird, warted, green elf like creature with it's eyes rolled into it's head and an arrow piercing through it's skull.

Kazune rolled his eyes, stepped forward, and grabbed the map from Himeka.

"Anyway, there's an inn 2 hours from here."  
Jin threw his bag on the ground and started to unpack it. We stared at him.

"Jin... what are you doing?" I asked.

"Well, I'm setting up our tent."  
"Did you not here me, hot head? I said there's an inn 2 hours from here."  
"It's too dangerous to walk that far. The women are exhausted. We should just rest here."  
"In the forest? You Fire people are so... you know what, whatever. We need to go to the inn. I am not sleeping out here like a commoner. Get up and let's go."  
"Prince Kazune, I'd really like to rest. I think we should do what Jin says, I think it would be fun..." I bent down to help him.

Himeka frowned. "I've never slept outdoors before. Even in my sorceress training days."  
"It's not like it will hurt you."  
"But.. it's dangerous at night like this."  
"If we all work together, we can put a forcefield around the tent."  
Kazune grabbed Himeka's wrist. "You two can stay here. Himeka, let's go to the inn."

"Kazune-sama, we need to stay together-"  
"These idiots can do whatever they want. I'm tired and I'm not in the mood for arguing."

"Well, _I_ think you are." Jin rolled his eyes. Kazune glared, but pulled Himeka away.

"You guys are really leaving?" I stood up.

"Yeah. Just stay with your bodyguard."

"Uh... I guess we'll see you guys in the forest North of the inn?" Himeka said, "Just before sunrise."

"But, I _really_ think we should..." my voice trailed off as I watched the ice Prince and Himeka disappear through the trees.

"Forget about it, Karin-chan."

I turned around and gasped. Jin had already finished the tent! And the whole thing was taller than _ME!_

"Well, go ahead and climb in." Jin stood up and motioned to the tent's entrance. I set my bag down next to the opening, struggled with my stubborn boots for a while, and climbed inside the tent. There was a lot of room, enough for 2 people to sleep in, actually.

Jin sighed, "Hurry up, so I can put the forcefield around your tent."

I settled on the blanket that was inside, stretching and yawning, "What? You mean, you're not going to come inside?"

"Nope. I have to stand guard, remember?"

I rolled my eyes. Jin was too serious about being my body guard. He forgets like 89% of the time that we grew up together.

I threw open the flaps of the tent, grabbed Jin's wrist, and pulled him inside.

"Idiot. You're going to need your rest, too." I said as he settled next to me. I pulled the cover over us and snuggled closer to him, but not too close for fear of burning him.

"Geez... did you forget you're a woman and I'm a man? I'm supposed to be protecting you. Those are the rules."

I smiled, "We can protect each other in here..." I closed my eyes and focused very hard on my magic to place a ring of rather calm fire around the tent. When it was done, I opened my eyes, "Besides... we're no longer in the castle... and since I'm outside of the kingdom, royalty doesn't count. There are no rules now, as far as I'm concerned."  
Jin smiled, and his golden eyes flashed with mischief, "No rules, huh?"

I blushed, "You say that like you're planning something perverted.." I closed my eyes and lay down, hearing Jin's low chuckle.

"Me? No, of course not. Get some rest, Karin-chan."

I laughed before drifting off...

* * *

**Well, I just felt like updating something I hadn't updated in a while! This may have been a little short, I was just trying to finish it up! Please be kind enough to just leave a review.**


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